1 Whole Chicken 4 Meals

I've been challenging myself to see how far I can stretch the dollar and still create healthy and nutritious meals. It's all too easy to succumb to the temptation of processed meals. Nevertheless there's always a price to pay for the convenience - the high salt content, additives and preservatives to ensure that the food stay "fresh" for unusually long period, plastic packaging which leak dangerous chemicals into our food. Is there any wonder why we're suffering from hypertension, cancer, ADHD and various other illnesses more than ever before?

I've found that buying a whole chicken is far more economical than buying portions. Let's do a few calculations here. I bought a 1.8kg (approximately 4lb) whole chicken recently for £4.80. Now if I had to buy the different portions to make up a whole chicken, the breakdown would've been:
2 chicken breast fillets:   £ 4.62
2 chicken legs             :   £ 1.90  (based on per kg price)
2 wings                       :   £ 1.60  (based on per kg price)
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Total                            :  £ 8.12


The total doesn't include the carcass as I often make chicken soup or stock. For argument sake, let's add a £1 to that so realistically, I'd probably have to fork out £9.12 for the entire chicken if I buy the parts separately. All you need is a sharp knife, a chopping board and a little know-how. Here's a video for those who haven't done this before. I do it a little differently as I like to leave the carcass whole.

Like many of you, much as I enjoy cooking, I prefer quick and easy meals. I actually managed to get 4 meals out of a chicken. This is based on a family of 2 adults and 1 child. Since my hubby eats enough for 2, I'd say this easily applies to a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children). Now if you have teenage boys, you may have to get a MUCH bigger chicken. So that's £4.80 divided by 4 meals = £1.20 per meal. The cost of potatoes, bread, thyme, carrots etc is negligible.



Meal 1: Roast Chicken  (Dinner)


Drizzle lemon juice all over the chicken portions. Rub salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss in some fresh thyme, tons of garlic and plenty of extra virgin olive oil and roast for an hour or so.



Meal 2: Chicken Katsu  (Dinner)

I've only used one chicken breast for this meal. Slice horizontally to get thin slices (just like schnitzel). Dip in flour, egg and lastly panko breadcrumbs (sprinkled with garlic salt if you prefer). Drizzle plenty of oil onto a non stick pan. Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side on low-medium heat.




Meal 3: Mayo Chicken Sandwiches (Lunch)



I dumped the entire chicken carcass into a pot of water to make chicken stock. Since I'm making chinese style broth, I tossed in some ginger, carrots and just let it simmer for an hour or so. Store the stock in fridge or freezer for use at a later date.

There was still tons of meat left on the carcass after I've made the stock so I carefully removed those. Mix the meat with French Mayo, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon (optional) to make sandwich filling. This was enough for Lil L and hubby's lunch.


Meal 4: Udon noodle soup  (Dinner)



There are nights when you're just totally exhausted and can't be bothered to cook. This is the perfect time to use the chicken stock. Instead of downing packets of ramen, make this instead. Put the stock into the pot, add a couple dashes of soy sauce, cut up some green, toss in udon and eggs. You could  dump in fish balls or whatever that takes your fancy.